During the UFC 74 post-fight press conference this past weekend, UFC President Dana White more or less revealed that plans to keep PRIDE FC running are all but dashed, according to FightNetwork.com.
Zuffa -- the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship -- purchased the Japanese mixed martial arts promotion (and its biggest rival) earlier this year.
Here's a snip from White:
"I've pulled everything out of the trick box that I can and I can't get a TV deal over there with PRIDE. I don't think they want us there. I don't think they me want me there.... PRIDE is a very powerful brand and we want to keep it alive, but I'll tell you what, the brand is very tainted, not only over there, but over here. The problem is PRIDE was never a big company in the United States and I'm not going to drop another $44 million to try and straighten it out."
White, of course, is referring to the reported $44 million in losses Zuffa took to get the UFC off the ground during the first few years since the company purchased the floundering organization in 2001.
There's also another article on this situation that appeared on FOXSports.com.
Check out this snip from White:
"(The Japanese) don't want another (mixed martial arts) organization over there. That company was in trouble. We went in and bought it out with every intention of keeping PRIDE alive. (Japan) is a very tricky place to do business."
The primary reason for the inability to keep PRIDE alive appears to be a television deal -- Fuji TV pulled the plug on PRIDE shows last year because of allegations that the organization had ties to the Japanese mob, Yakuza.
And now White is claiming that despite all of his "tricks" he's not having any success getting the organization back on track. Furthermore, he doesn't want to squander money trying to bring the show stateside.
As a result, more and more fighters from the PRIDE roster such as Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai and others are signing UFC contracts.
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